Ironton was supposed to be the dominant running team and it was.

Chillicothe was supposed to be the dominant passing team.

Whoops!

Ironton not only ran for 254 yards but threw for another 170 yards as the Fighting Tigers routed the Chillicothe Cavaliers 56-17 Friday in a Southeastern Ohio Athletic League game.

“We just tried to take what the defense gave us,” said Ironton coach Bob Lutz. “They had 11 men in the box and we burned them with the pass. When they backed out and played normal, we were able to run the ball. We try to keep teams honest.”

Quarterback Ethan Preston was just 5-of-6 passing but racked up 144 yards. Jon Monnig caught four passes for 152 yards.

“It was fun out there. I enjoyed it,” said Preston. “It reminded me of the Logan game. They had them all up. We’ve got to be able to hit those plays and make teams pay for stacking the box. Everyone is getting better.”

The Ironton defense limited the Cavaliers to 56 net yards rushing and 6-foot-2, 237-pound quarterback Shay Netter was 17-of-29 for 110 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

“Their quarterback was a pretty tough kid. We put some shots on him and he just kept coming back,” said Lutz.

The Fighting Tigers (4-2, 2-1) went 60 yards in 10 plays on their first possession with Keith Wetzel going the final yard. He also added the first of eight conversion kicks and it was 7-0.

Brian Warner recovered a Chillicothe fumble at the 18, but Ironton fumbled the ball back two plays later.

Ironton forced a punt and J.P. Taylor scooped up the ball and darted 41 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-0.

“That was a heads-up play by Taylor,” said Lutz.

Chillicothe came back to get on the scoreboard when their drive bogged down and Drew Basil kicked a 38-yard field goal at the 9:50 mark.

But Preston hit Monnig on a 52-yard pass to set up a 1-yard run by Preston and he lead was 21-3.

A short punt gave Ironton the ball at the Chillicothe 43 and the Fighting Tigers scored seven plays later on a 2-yard run by Warner.

The Cavaliers (1-5, 0-2) got a 12-yard touchdown pass from Netter to Marty Dunn with five seconds left in the half and it was 28-10 at the break.

Ironton fumbled the ball away at the 22 on the second play of the third quarter and Chillicothe capitalized three plays later as Brandon Whittaker ran 3 yards for a score to make it 28-17.

Ironton went to the air again as Preston and Monnig clicked on a 69-yard pass play to the 1-yard line. Wetzel scored on the next play and it was 35-17.

The Cavaliers faked a punt on their next possession but Ben Wells made the stop short of a first down and Ironton had the ball at the Cavs’ 43. Five running plays later Taylor raced to the end zone from 12 yards out and it was 42-17.

Ironton’s second unit got two fourth quarter scores.

On a fourth-and-goal play, Tommy Waginger hit Michael Lawless who broke a couple of tackles to complete a 26-yard scoring pass and run.

Chillicothe fumbled the ball on its next play and Jon Shotsky recovered for Ironton at the 19. Four plays later Tyler Hager scored on an 11-yard run.

Tyler Kratzenberg intercepted a Cavaliers’ pass on the next play and Ironton ran out the clock.

The Fighting Tigers travel to unbeaten Jackson next Friday for a key league game.

Chillicothe 0 10 7 0 = 17

Ironton 14 14 14 14 = 56

First Quarter

Irn — Keith Wetzel 1 run (Wetzel kick) 5:44

Irn — J.P. Taylor 41 punt return (Keith Wetzel kick) 2:05

Second Quarter

Ch — Drew Basil 38 field goal 9:50

Irn — Ethan Preston 1 run (Keith Wetzel kick) 8:26

Irn — Brian Warner 2 run (Keith Wetzel kick) 4:22

Ch — Marty Dunn 12 pass from Shay Netter (Drew Basil kick) 0:05

Third Quarter

Ch — Brandon Whittaker 3 run (Drew Basil kick) 10:27

Irn — Keith Wetzel 1 run (Wetzel kick) 8:17

Irn — J.P. Taylor 12 run (Keith Wetzel kick) 1:10

Fourth Quarter

Irn — Michael Lawless 26 pass from Tommy Waginger (Keith Wetzel kick) 4:57

Irn — Tyler Hager 11 run (Keith Wetzel kick) 2:42

—————

Ch Irn

First downs 8 20

Rushes-yards 22-56 55-254

Passing yards 110 170

Total yards 166 424

Cmp-Att-Int 17-29-1 6-8-0

Fumbles-lost 3-2 3-2

Penalties-yards 6-57 5-43

Punts-average 6-40.7 1-32.0

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Individual Leaders

RUSHING—Chillicothe: Brandon Whittaker 13-64, Casey Oates 3-8, Drew Basil 1-2, Landon Beverly 1-2, Shay Netter 4-minus 20. Ironton: J.P. Taylor 11-74, Tres Wilks 9-72, Brian Warner 7-37, Keith Wetzel 9-23, Ethan Preston 7-16, Tyler Hager 3-23, Michael Lawless 3-10, Codey Jones 4-7, Leron Beach 1-4, Tommy Waginger 1-minus 12.

PASSING—Chillicothe: Shay Netter 17-29-1 110. Ironton: Ethan Preston 5-6-0 144, Tommy Waginger 1-1-0 26.

RECEIVING—Chillicothe: Casey Oates 7-36, Isaac Beverly 3-20, Marty Dunn 3-20, Troy Netter 1-8, Brandon Whittaker 2-27, Ryan Ferguson 1-minus 1. Ironton: Jon Monnig 4-152, Michael Lawless 1-26, J.P.Taylor 1-minus 8.